Ireland

The land of my ancestors. It so happens that I am 100% Irish American. That comes with all the baggage you can imagine--moods, potential for addiction, love of stout, Catholicism, a propensity for playing sad songs (or as a member of the Irish band Solas once said, "We Irish love our uplifting songs of sorrow and despair."), and a constant pull back toward the motherland. This latter trait is a bit interesting, in that Irish-Americans tend to view the motherland more favorably than other immigrant groups to the Americas, yet they had the lowest return rate. Hmmm. 

Anyway, I was able to have a memorable trip along the western coast in 2007. We were hoping to get back there this year, but due to my husband's current spinal issues, that is on hold. So, I go back to the old pictures and reminisce. I wrote this last year, about An Blasket Mor.

That's another Irish trait. We spend a lot, maybe too much time, reminiscing about things past. It's a profound, inherited preoccupation with loss. Here's a quote from Timothy Egan's Op-Ed in the NYT:

"To be Irish," said Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, "is to know that in the end the world will break your heart"

Egan goes on to say, "And it's true that Irish history is an epic of misery and tragedy, interrupted only by occasional periods of joy. For almost 700 years, it was a crime to be Irish in Ireland." This history seems imbedded in our genes. Sorrow passed down through the generations.

On the other hand, we can be a blast at a party, go figure! There is no denying that light that can come on in most (we have our curmudgeons just like any group) Irish when they are around people. 

Now, onto food to celebrate this Irish holiday! 

First, I found this interesting, that corned beef is not the meal eaten by the Irish on St. Paddy's day.  ????? Figures. Things don't always translate "across the pond". If you haven't already discovered farmette.ie, go there now!

I wrote this post last year. I was completely un-creative this year and sort of just tweaked last year's cupcakes by copying this from Smitten Kitchen (she's awesome, btw). Her use of a whiskey chocolate ganache filling is perfection, I think. My cupcakes are mini's. That allows me to eat just one (or two) with minimal guilt. These babies are rich. I added a tablespoon of finely ground dark chocolate espresso beans into the batter while mixing, as well as a sprinkling to the tops of each cupcake before baking. Also, I topped them with shaved dark chocolate curls and homemade whiskey coffee flavored sprinkles, which are surprisingly tasty. The sprinkle recipe is Michelle's at Hummingbird High. Instead of 3/4 tsp of vanilla extract, I used 1/4 tsp vanilla extract, 1/4 tsp whiskey, and 1/4 tsp coffee extract.

If you make these, make the sprinkles at least a day ahead of time, as they can take that long to dry. Also, you will need a surface large enough to place them while drying. My kitchen is ridiculously small, so these took up most of the space on our dining room table. 

Honestly, nothing gives me a lift like making mini-cupcakes. They're cute and decorating them can be creative. Most of all, people love them. It's so fun to give them away to people who can enjoy them. Made my St. Paddy's Day a good one. Erin Go Bragh! 

Remembering Ireland

It's Ireland's day. We were fortunate enough to go there in 2007. Our trip was up the west coast, from Kenmare north to Achill Island.  My head is there, today. Specifically, I'm conjuring the glory of the Blasket Islands.

Great Blasket Island, (An Blascaod Mór), County Kerry, Ireland

Great Blasket Island, An Blascaod Mór, with its empty splendor, lies just off the Dingle Peninsula, in County Kerry, Ireland. (It's the mountain-looking land on the center-left of the picture below.) The drive to the boat dock was . . . well, it was Ireland. Transporting. Any previous favorite places can easily be replaced by these vistas.

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The boat ride there was . . . interesting. The weather seemed innocent, the sea looked placid in the cove where we met the boat. (Although, when I look at the above picture, I can see there were many small swells, closely following one another.) 

Then, we got out past the peninsula. Large swells rolled under us the entire way there and back. A water roller coaster, and I don't ride roller coasters. I focused my sight on our destination, in order to minimize my mounting anxiety. 

That took my mind off wondering if I made the right decision to get on that boat.

We anchored just off the island, in a small rocky inlet. Well, inlet is generous. It was really a place where the rock walls cleaved enough to hold a spot for a rubber dingy. Getting off the dingy to climb the slippery, mossy rock dock was tricky. But, nothing was going to deter me from getting up to those hills. We wandered among the deserted homes and ruins for hours. Time stilled as did our breath. I believe Rick Steves, or one of his writers, used this apt term for Great Blasket, "a seven mile poem."

It was easy to understand, as the wind stiffened, the challenging life lived on this grassy rock. Though, this was one of the better places to be during the Great Famine, because the islanders subsisted on fish, unlike the rest of the country. But life was brutal and resources scarce. The government moved all the inhabitants off the island in 1953, do to the difficulty faced by those living there. I recommend reading Fiche Blian ag Fás (Twenty Years A-Growing) by Muiris Ó Súilleabháin. I did while we traveled the rest of the west coast. It was a good way to get a sense of island life. You can imagine the women sweeping the floors of the stone cottages, the men venturing out to sea in the currach boats, and the ceili dances after the meal was eaten. 

Seals bathed themselves in sunlight on the cove beach. Sheep grazed freely, as some descendants of the original settlers of the island still graze sheep here. Many others, interestingly, settled in Springfield, MA! Our group was small. It was easy to feel completely alone in this lovely, windswept place. If you are fortunate enough to visit Ireland, I highly recommend it, as long as the seas are not too rough!